Don't Go Near the Water [Hardcover]

William Brinkley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1956

At once a rousing entertaining farce and gentle love story, this novel is set on a remote Pacific island during the waning days of the World War II. It follows the adventures of a group of young officers in the public relations sector of the Navy—described as commissioned without the corrupting influence of any intervening naval training—as they face wartime adversities with comic ingenuity. For these mariners, the Navy’s immortal motto, "Don’t Give Up the Ship" had become "Don’t Go Near the Water." In combining a colorful cast of characters with absurd situations, the author has created a high-spirited tale of naval service that has appealed to generations of readers since it was first published in 1956.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The late William Brinkley, the author of several books, served in the Navy during World War II and later worked as a reporter for The Washington Post and editor and writer for Life magazine. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 373 pages
• Publisher: Random House Inc (T) (June 1956)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9997405064
• ISBN-13: 978-9997405067
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,159,159 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Naval Ha-ha's, November 14, 2005

By 

William Michaels (Hillsborough, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Don't Go Near the Water (Paperback)

Well, I did read this book repeatedly in the late 50's and early 60's, so I cannot in good conscience rate it lower than 4 stars. It is a moderately entertaining, and by now quaintly old-fashioned, story of some admen pressed into U. S. Navy Public Relations service in the Pacific. While everyone else fought the Axis, they fought the Air Force for their fair share of public recognition. The funniest bit is where the PR guys launch a "Typical Young Navy Man" campaign and select their candidate sight unseen, merely because his name contains two famous naval historical figures--Farragut and (John Paul) Jones. When he comes ashore for briefing, he proves slovenly, foul-mouthed, and all but intractable. The movie version memorably bleeped out his every use of the f-word with a ship's horn that sounded every bit as foul as what it was masking!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A different take on the Catch-22 element of the war, January 8, 2008

By 

Matthew Castelli (Fredericksburg, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Don't Go Near the Water (Paperback)

Think of this book as a "Catch-22" for the Navy at the tail end of World War II. In fact, near the end of the book some of the officers have an interesting discussion regarding the bomb and its effect on the war, and the world, but let me warn you, the outcome might not be what one might expect. This book has all the colorful characters and oddball situations - my favorite being the daily delivery of the photo opportunity pictures to visiting politicians. There are some deeper tones here, and the humanity is never forgotten. I recommend this book to anyone who wants, and can appreciate, the snapshot of history from the inside, albeit at times with tongue planted firmly in cheek but never forgetting there is a bigger purpose.